Difference between revisions of "Lisa Simpson"

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Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. Matt Groening, the creator of the series, named her after his sister.

Lisa is an extremely intelligent 8 year old girl, one of the brightest characters on the show, with an I.Q. of either 156 or 159. She plays what appears to be a Baritone Saxophone. Lisa is also a Buddhist and often serves as a mouthpiece for the show's writers, many of whom are postgraduates, to voice their knowledge of philosophy, science and history.^{[citation needed]}

Personality

Toddler Bart holding baby Lisa as seen in "Lisa's First Word".

Lisa is quite eclectic in her knowledge and is notably more concerned with world affairs than her cohorts. Critics have also pointed out that Lisa's situation alludes to the plight of real children, who are often underestimated by adults. Lisa shares her intellect and overachieving personality traits with other female members of the Simpson family ("Lisa the Simpson" revealed that Simpson males inherit a gene on the Y chromosome that prevents them from channeling their intellect). Lisa also deeply values her integrity, as demonstrated when she cheats on a test on The Wind in the Willows to attain her highest grade of A+++, but later admits her dishonesty to an unreceptive Principal Skinner. (She later re-grades the test as an F.) Like her brother Bart, Lisa has received detention quite a number of times, often because of her rebellious and sometimes bitter attitude and anti-social behavior that is capable of deeply embarrassing authority figures.

Although her rebellion against social norms is usually depicted as constructive and heroic, Lisa can be whiny, cruel and self-righteous at times. Notably, in "Lisa the Vegetarian", her increasing sense of moral righteousness regarding her vegetarianism leads her to proselytize, culminating in her spiteful disruption of a "meat-based" barbecue prepared by Homer (an act she comes to rue). At times, Lisa appears to resist certain situations merely for the sake of resisting them, not because of any genuine ideological opposition. She appears to enjoy breaking the norm for its own sake; in Bart Star, she triumphantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When it is revealed that there are already girls on the team, she declares her distaste for a sport that would use a pig's skin to make its ball. When it is revealed that the ball is actually synthetic, she is at a loss for words and runs off visibly upset. She was also able to talk at a very young age, as seen in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet".

Despite her high IQ, Lisa does have typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. In "Lost Our Lisa", she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost. After his coworkers Lenny and Carl point out that he allowed his 8 year old daughter to ride a bus by herself, Homer comes to her rescue. In one episode, Lisa has a Jewish imaginary friend named Rachel who "just got into Brandeis." In the earlier seasons, Lisa displayed more personality traits of an eight-year old, including obsessing over getting a pony, being addicted to TV, fighting with Bart, and obsessing about her weight in one episode. She also finds Bart's joke-calls to Moe's tavern funny (although she never does it personally).

Arguably, Lisa's most notable trait about her character is that she is very intelligent. In "Homer's Enemy", it is mentioned that Lisa has an IQ of 156. She is a high-ranking member of Mensa Springfield. Lisa demonstrates an early intelligence by changing her own diaper as an infant and completing a puzzle in Principal Skinner's office at 3 years old. When unable to attend school due to a teachers' strike (in "The PTA Disbands"), she suffered a sort of "school withdrawal" and invents a perpetual motion machine that Homer describes as going "faster and faster". He goes on to chastise her, saying "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"

Lisa's political convictions are generally leftist and rather liberal. She is a vegetarian, and a supporter of the Free Tibet movement.^{[1] [2]} While still supportive of the Christian church she was raised in,^[3] Lisa is now a practicing Buddhist following her decision to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.^[4] She also supports the theory of Darwinism and evolution, calling Darwin "one of the greatest minds" of all time, as seen in the episode, "The Monkey Suit." Though apparently not an adherent, she mentions in one episode that she considers Wicca "very empowering." ^[5]

She is a player on the Kwik-E-Mart Gougers Peewee Hockey League Team.

Lisa has had relationships with several different boys, including Ralph Wiggum ("I Love Lisa"), Nelson Muntz ("Lisa's Date with Density") and Colin (The Simpsons Movie). Milhouse Van Houten also has a crush on her, and tries to get her to kiss or date him frequently, and as yet has been unsuccessful.

Character

Creation

Voice actress Yeardley Smith.

Matt Groening first conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction.^[6] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family, and Lisa is the name of one of his sisters.^[6] Lisa then made her debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on 19 April, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".^[7] Nancy Cartwright, originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but soon thought that her voice would be better suited voicing Bart.^[8]

In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was more of a "female Bart" and was equally mischievous. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character with "Krusty Gets Busted" being one of the first episodes where her true intelligence is fully shown.^[9] Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, the first one being "Moaning Lisa". The idea for the episode was pitched by James L. Brooks, who had wanted to do an emotional episode where Lisa is sad because the show had done a lot of "jokey episodes".^[10]

Cultural influence

In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards.^[11] "Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode from the seventh season, won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy"^[12] and a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment".^[13]

Both Lisa and Bart ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time."^[14]

In Japan, the broadcasters of the series found they were able to turn the apparent viewer dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and city struck a chord with the Japanese.^[15]

See also

• Lisa's sax solo gags on The Simpsons
• List of characters from The Simpsons

External links

• Lisa Simpson at The Simpsons.com